I feel extraordinarily thankful to be here this Christmas with my husband and my children. There was a moment a few months ago when I wasn't sure ... so much so that my Christmas shopping was complete in early September.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.My heart leaps for joy,and with my song I praise him.

Psalm 28:7

In January, I began training for the 2011 Marine Corp Marathon. I had exactly ten months to prepare myself to finish 26.2 miles in less than seven hours. I worried from day one. I had spent the previous months recovering from a brutal surgery where doctors removed cancerous tumors from my chest cavity, the lining of my heart, my lungs, my diaphragm, and my esophagus.

Two years ago, my four boys ages 8-15 knew nothing about cancer. The oldest 3 had been to Haiti numerous times and had begun at young ages to grasp poverty, political corruption, and the need to work for change, but they were unfamiliar with cancer. Little did I know that our family was going to be blessed by cancer.